On a bus ride back from the Boys and Girls Club on Tuesday night, a 9-year-old Golden Gate boy wrapped his hands around another boy's throat and began to squeeze.

He did this until the boy was unconscious, according to an arrest report. But the beating wasn't finished.

The 9-year-old yanked his victim upward and smashed his fists into the boy, punching him again and again. Surveillance footage showed the boy unconscious for several minutes, until a high school student picked him up and helped him off the bus, according to the report.

Collier County sheriff's deputies made two arrests in the case – the 9-year-old boy, who faces a charge of felony battery, and the 57-year-old school bus driver, who investigators say did nothing to stop the attack.

Irena Fulton, a substitute driver for the Collier County School District, faces a felony charge of child neglect.

The attack happened just after 7 p.m. as the children headed from the Boys & Girls Club on Davis Boulevard back to Golden Gate Elementary-Intermediate School, according to Sheriff's Office reports. Although several children were out of their seats on the ride home, deputies said Fulton did not act like there was a problem until she arrived at the school.

Surveillance video from the bus shows an older girl helping the limping victim off the bus, at which point Fulton asked what happened. Fulton stopped the 9-year-old after the other children told her he hit the victim.

"He's not dead! He can still walk!" the 9-year-old told Fulton, according to an arrest report. "He's not dead! We were playing!"

Reports say the older girl helped the victim off the bus, but Fulton did not follow. Deputies said she did not ask anything more about how seriously the victim was injured and did not call 911 to report the beating.

Within the same timeframe of the choking, two girls at the front of the bus also were hitting each other. Deputies say Fulton seemed aware of the fight but failed to break it up.

Fulton, who lives on the 600 block of 19th Street Northwest, Golden Gate Estates, was arrested Friday afternoon and booked into the Naples Jail Center. Fulton's husband declined to comment on her arrest, saying the family had hired an attorney.

The Daily News is not naming the 9-year-old suspect because of his age. The child was arrested Thursday at his school.

Reached Friday, the mother of the 9-year-old said a third child provoked the attack by hitting her son. The 9-year-old mistakenly thought the victim was the child who hit him.

"He was trying to defend himself," the mother said. "He thought the kid hit him first."

The mother said her son's actions were uncharacteristic of his typical behavior, although "I'm not saying it's acceptable."

"I fully apologize to the other parents," she said. "I'm sorry with what happened to the other child."

Still, the mother said she believes her son could have been punished without being formally arrested. She also faulted the bus driver for failing to intervene.

"It's a very big deal, but it's like, having a 9-year-old arrested?" she said. "The minute the arguing started, she should have started the emergency signal and stopped the bus and interfered instead of letting the fight continue."

A spokesman from the Collier County School District said Fulton has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the Sheriff's Office investigation. He declined to comment on the arrest of the 9-year-old, citing student confidentiality policies.

Reports don't say whether the victim received medical treatment for his injuries. The victim's teacher told deputies he was unusually reserved and disengaged the next day in school.